Recently single and tired of
the London rat race Amanda is determined to make her dreams of setting
up an idyllic countryside boutique come true, and the picturesque
village of West¬field is the perfect place to make a fresh start.

Local
vet Ben is the golden boy of West¬field, especially to resident gossip
Agatha Mayweather, who is determined to help Ben get his life back
together after his wife left.

When a chance encounter outside the
‘chic boutique’ sets sparks flying between Amanda and Ben, Agatha is
itching to set them up. But are Amanda and Ben really ready for romance?

Nayu's thoughts

For some bizarre reason I was convinced this was a cozy mystery for the first quarter of the book - clearly I had cozy mysteries on the brain and expected every book to be one. This is most clearly one of my beloved shop fiction reads! The story centres around The Chic Boutique run by Amanda, who is a sweet girl trying to get over a horrible disappointment in her previous job. That is an understatement, and I will say it does plague her throughout the book, but there is very much a happy ending. Her previous boyfriend is a moron on many levels which I'll leave you to find out for yourself.

As with all my shop fiction reads (I did kind of make up the genre, it might exist somewhere...) I adore how Amanda starts from scratch with her boutique. It's so cool that she lives above the shop too. At first she encounters a few problems, mostly lack of customers. However, the super friendly (aka extremely nosy and interfering but in a nice way) women of the community soon drag Amanda into their circles, getting her to help them in exchange for getting her more custom. As the friendships deepen so too does Amanda's creativity when she sees more of country life. I loved seeing her imagination create cute craft items, and have her expand on the original vision for her shop.

All the characters are likable, especially Agatha and her gang. I giggled so much at their interfering with Amanda and Ben's relationship, and laughed harder when Amanda got her own back on Agatha. Agatha is a widow, and no one messes with her...until Amanda turns the tables! While not my focus of any story, the romance between Amanda and Ben was sweet. I was thrilled to bits when she got some kittens - it only added to the brilliance of owning a shop (& living above it). There are a few glitches, naturally, which propelled Amanda to change direction in her personal life. I can honestly say I don't think I've hated anyone's parents as much as I did hers (& her ex). They just don't care for her happiness at all, which thankfully she finds in and around Baker Street.

This is definitely a feel good, funny, upbeat + inspiring must read & a reread - and please can someone make an audiobook version? I really really want to listen on it while I crochet and sew!

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Essential Review Policy Information

Currently not accepting books for review until April 2018

This review policy change is due to winter being my worst time of year health wise, and it's just easier to put a suspension on accepting new reviews until I know I will be able to do them. Click on this link to see the full explanation

Exceptions are if you are an author I really like/or are a picture book!You will know who you are. If you don't mind a wait, do email me to see if I'll make an exception - I may depending on the book.

I accept books, ebooks, + audiobooks frompublishers, publicists, and authors. I also accept independently published books.

Other review items I'm happy to consider:jigsaw puzzles, apps for both android and iPad, candles, yarn, and chocolate.

Hi, I'm Nayu!

About me

About me I'm a UK book reviewer who founded NRC in 2009. As well as books I'm addicted to anime, love gaming, and spend time coaxing novels out of my Muse. I'm at the early stage of the path to publication, and will release all news when I have it! ^o^ Sometimes there will be days without posts because I have to deal with chronic illness and chronic pain gremlins. Please be patient in the down times.

Thanks to my passion for languages I like to rest up watching anime in English, French, and Japanese. I also adore gaming and cross stitch. My crochet hobby has evolved in to my Etsy store and blog Nayu's Crochet Dreams, where I sell handmade blankets, dishcloths and other crochet goods.

My cat Belle loves curling on my lap when I read, although she gets a bit crabby when I crochet because she doesn't like the yarn draping over her. Needless to say she doesn't get a say in the matter!

I hope you enjoy Nayu's Reading Corner, which has lots to offer whatever you're interested in.

short 'n' sweet= a shorter than normal review for when I'm low on energy/ill. Full reason is in this post. It bears no reflection on the book's brilliance. I truly would write more if I could.

Apart from books, which are copyright to the publisher, and pictures which I say are mine, all other pictures are found online through a Google search. I don't own the right to any of them.

Affiliates:I'm in the slow process of removing affiliate links. All affilate links will be marked as such, and if you choose to buy a book through an affiliate I get a tiny smidge of money. None of my opinions change because I'm using affiliates.

Nayu, 13th March 2017

Disclaimer

I am fortunate that most of the books I currently review are received from authors and publishers.

At the beginning of each review I put either Review copy (received from authors/publishers), Personal Copy (purchased by myself) or Library Copy (borrowed from the library).

Wherever the book comes from, I always write an honest review, explaining what I do like, as well as what I don't. I don't receive any payment for these reviews.